No Sign of Slowing in Class 8 Market
After nearly two years of setting records, sales of big trucks have shown no signs of slowing.
Truck manufacturers continued to pump out Class 8 vehicles in extraordinary numbers — 22,421 in September, 22% better than in the same month last year, according to Ward’s Communications, an industry analysis firm in Southfield, Mich. Through nine months in 1999, 193,516 big tractors have been sold. That’s a 27.5% jump over 1998.
The top seller in the Class 8 market continued to be Freightliner, with 7,749 trucks sold in September, a 37% jump from last year, and 62,769 sold overall this year, a 36% increase. For 1999, the Portland, Ore.-based manufacturer has captured 32.4% of the market.
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If sales continue at their current pace, more than 258,000 Class 8s will be sold this year, smashing the record mark of 1998 by nearly 50,000.
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